


The Hunted

by TribalVipe



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Kidnapping, Murder Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Stalking, Thriller, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:01:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25318741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TribalVipe/pseuds/TribalVipe
Summary: Nick and Judy have settled into a routine with the ZPD, but when a new case becomes personal, it threatens to swallow them, and the past year of the lives they've built, whole.
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the crappy summary. This story was originally posted with 13 chapters that I took down because I lost interest and didn't intend on writing anymore because of serious writer's block. I've decided, after reading it back and remembering how much I loved this fic, to take my time and rewrite this work. I love the plot and characters I came up with the first time, but I feel I have a better grasp on writing this time around. FAIR WARNING: I am a busy adult with a job and hobbies that I attend to in my personal life. This story could have sporadic uploads and will most likely not be updated weekly. If you are not a fan of that, I don't recommend reading this fic. Just being honest! I hope you guys enjoy! 
> 
> I do not own these characters! Disney does!

**Tuesday, August 25th - 2:37 p.m. - Nellie's Cafe, Sahara Square**

Nick Wilde was immediately reminded why he never really visited Sahara Square as soon as his feet hit the pavement.

It was hot. Melt into a puddle hot. It was so hot; he could be naked as the day he was born, and he would still find little to no relief from the unnaturally hot rays of the artificial heat waves blasting along the city streets and the bright sun beating down in a brutal combination. He grabbed the front of his uniform and shook it a few times, more or less to signal he was incredibly uncomfortable than to somehow catch a cool breeze.

Nellie’s Café, a local favorite, is what brought them out here today. Scuttlebutt said they had the best carrot latte in town and since they had some free time, Judy had hopped on the freeway into this blazing inferno of death town just pick one up.

“This better be worth it,” he grouched, sliding his glasses off and slipping them into his breast pocket, squinting down at his partner in hopes of relaying his discomfort. She noticed and merely rolled her eyes, seemingly having no issue adjusting to the heat.

“Frozen Blueberry latte. Keep your eye on the prize, Slick.”

She marched happily past him and into the shop, leaving him to hurriedly trail behind her when he realized the shop was fully air-conditioned. There he found some relief, and he was humming happily when he was finally sat in a booth, sipping his drink and taking a bite into a piece of matching blueberry cream pie.

“I’m so glad I made you take us here,” he said between bites, leaving Judy to peek at him incredulously over her own drink. He smirked, unable to resist the moment to tease her. She sipped her own drink and closed her eyes, relishing the iced treat she drove out for. It was well worth it, because she bought another one for the road, shutting him up with another helping of pie just for having to walk the small distance between the café and the car.

“I’m all for simulating the real desert environment but I’m almost positive it’s too hot even for these mammals.” Nick cranked the a/c up as soon as the car was back on, clutching the boxed confection to his chest like it was the most precious gem.

“How on Earth did I get stuck with such a baby,” Judy shook her head, pulling out onto the busy street with ease. Nick scoffed, “You know you love me, Carrots. Don’t deny it.”

“Don’t be so sure,” she teased back, giggling at his green eyes peeking over his sunglasses. He smirked in return, listening to the soft sounds of radio chatter echoing back to them. They were back in downtown before they knew it, circling around the precinct to head into one of the more residential parts of town. This was where they caught most of their speeding tickets. Schools were just getting out about now as well, leaving them to catch stop sign runners as well.

They parked where they normally did, down a side street between two large apartment complexes, providing the perfect cover. Since they had made this their unofficial spot, the speeding had gone down immensely, but they were still able to catch quite a few unsuspecting speed demons from time to time.

Judy settled back into her seat, speed gun faced towards the road as she relaxed in her seat, eyes hovering between the street and the dashboard computer displaying active calls going out. She always was looking to make sure they weren’t needed elsewhere, and usually, when they were out patrolling like this, they weren’t. Especially, so close to the end of their shift. But she was always looking. Always aware, in case something did come up for them.

Nick broke her concentration with a sudden, random thought that destroyed any and all plans for a relaxing night in. He groaned and tipped his head back dramatically against the headrest. Judy glanced at him and then back at a car driving past their alley at a normal speed.

“Clawhauser’s birthday party is tonight.”

Judy groaned a second later, and he didn’t feel so bad he completely spaced it. The cheetah had only been talking about for the past few weeks, sending countless reminders through their work portal about his gathering at Tippy’s tonight. He’d been so hellbent on the entire first shift going that he even convinced Delgato and Wolford to come out despite their obvious distaste for any and everything the cheetah held near and dear to his heart.

“I had it written down on my calendar, but I completely forgot,” Judy whined, hanging her head and grabbing for her cell phone resting in the middle console. She brought up the home screen, a picture of Nick’s face obscured by the listing of apps that he had set jokingly a few days ago, and quickly tapped into her reminders, the big bold letters screaming at her to buy a gift and don’t be late.

“There goes my night sitting in front of the television in my underwear,” he groused, leaning the seat back and throwing folding his hands behind his head. His stomach was full, the car was comfortably cool, and all he wanted to do know was take a nice nap instead of worrying over the fact that he had forgotten all about tonight’s shindig. He and Carrots were going to have to hit the mall before they ever made it to Tippy’s, which means they were going to have to rush and that wasn’t something Nicholas Wilde did. That was a total Judy Hopps characteristic he hadn’t picked up with his five months on the force.

“It’s not going to kill you to go out for one night. It’s Ben! You love Ben.”

He did love that big, overbearing, nosy cheetah. He wouldn’t trade their early morning banter over donuts and coffee for anything. That was the only reason he was going to end up buying him the nicest, most expensive Gazelle memorabilia they had at the music store. But, still, he liked to argue.

“I hope you know I’ll be losing my beauty sleep over this outing, considering we have a shift tomorrow.”

Judy snorted, eyes dancing and back and forth between her phone and the passing cars on the street. No one was biting today it seemed. Nick sighed happily, glad he wasn’t going to be thrust into countless traffic stops before the end of the day. Judy seemed content to park it there, too. Rare was it when she fell into these kinds of moods, and he had a suspicion that their late lunch lattes put her normally upbeat energy into a hazy lull.

“You’ll survive,” she smirked over at him, flicking the end of his nose. He swatted at her paw playfully, smiling at her low-pitched chuckle. He sighed in contentment, relishing work afternoons like this. They were few and far between, but they were always welcome.

* * *

**Tuesday, August 25th - 7:54 p.m. - Tippy's Bar, Savanna Central**

Tippy’s was crowded for a Tuesday night. Nick and Judy had rushed after work to their own places to shower and dress, foregoing dinner in favor of hitting the mall and making the required 8 p.m. event time. Any minute later, and Clawhauser was sure to mark it as a grievous offense in their friendship.

The fox and rabbit slide between the patrons, narrowly avoiding being stepped on by Francine’s boyfriend Vinny on his way to the restroom. The elephant stuttered an apology as a very drunk cayote began grinding against the poor guy, leaving him to awkwardly stand in the middle of the dance floor with his trunk curled up to his mouth.

The back room had been reserved and was far less crowded and noisy than the main dancefloor out front, with far less sweat and body odor to deal much to Nick’s relief. Sometimes, it didn’t pay to have such a good sense of smell. It smelled far better in the men’s locker room at work after an intense workout in the gym, surprisingly.

“Nick! Judy! Oh, my favorite two officers in the world! You made it!”

Ben scooped them up in both of his arms, sloshing his double fisted fruity drinks on the floor. Nick nearly gagged at the intense smell of alcohol emanating from Ben’s breath, wondering just how many drinks the birthday Cheetah had received so far in the night. Judging from how many co-workers had shown up, already relaxed in their seats, drinking and eating, at least seven.

“Happy Birthday! Sorry, we would have gotten here earlier but Nick took forever combing his fur,” Judy gestured at him, rolling her eyes at the ridiculous notion. Nick shrugged his shoulders at Ben’s wagging finger, letting Judy have this one. They both know it was her having the hard time choosing a gift at the mall that set them behind, but he was willing to take the brunt if it meant getting a drunk Clawhauser off their backs for running late. Nick shoved his brightly wrapped gift at him, and it was all but forgotten anyway.

“Wilde, what took you so long?”

“Did you miss me that bad Fangy? I know I’m irresistible, but I don’t need Mr. Fangy coming after me with those claws of his.”

Fangmeyer rolled her eyes, “In your dreams, fox.”

“Where’s Chief? He couldn’t pull the stick out of his long enough to have a drink with us?”

Wolford snorted, swigging his beer, “The last time he went out and drank with us he ended up singing a Catwood Yak song on top of the bar and passed out in the back of my squad car. He hasn’t been out with us since and that was two years ago.”

“Please tell me you have pictures,” Nick begged, desperate to see the ever professional, grumpy buffalo let his guard down. Wolford grinned and dug into his pocket for his phone, “I have video.”

Nick thanked whoever was listening that this night was getting better by the second and quickly excused himself to run to the bar for a drink. He waved at Judy, who requested something fruity on his way out, hoping the line wasn’t too long for the twin ocelots behind the bar.

He waited patiently, pushing his way through the crowd, eventually getting close enough to rattle off his order to one of the spotted females. He waited patiently, fingers tapping to the rhythm of the music and looked around the room, spotting a few people he knew. He ducked his head away from them, not needing the judging stares that always met him whenever they crossed into a part of town that he was well known in. Since he’d become a cop, his contacts had dwindled dramatically. Most of the mammals that stuck to the streets couldn’t be seen associating with him anymore, which he understood, but it still stung that even Finnick didn’t want to be seen walking around with him. Finn, who’d been with him since the second grade, only ever swung by when he needed a place to crash for the night.

He enjoyed his work and he wouldn’t trade his partnership with Judy for anything, but he wondered sometimes where he’d be now if he hadn’t made the leap of faith and signed up for the academy. That line of thinking always lead him back to nowhere good. The streets of Zootopia were tough, and even though he hustled for a good portion of his life, making good money to get by with, it felt good to make an honest paycheck for once in his life, while also taking care of the city and his own people, who were grossly underserved.

Also, he looked great in the uniform.

“Thanks, sweetie,” he winked at the bartender and she shoved the tip in her bra, smiling at him despite being shamelessly flirted with all night. Wilde strikes again. He hopped off the barstool he perched on and turned to head back into the back room, running directly into another red-haired fox who he recognized immediately.

“Brian?”

The fox jumped back a little, eyes focusing in on Nick, the movement sporadic and his pupils blown wide. Nick schooled his face, pretending not to notice his old friend wasn’t completely doped up.

“N-Nicky? Hey! What’s up man?”

“Hey, long time no see!”

Brian Burner had been a close friend and associate years back when Nick was only eighteen and he was 24. They met when a hustle went sideways and Nick ended up trapped in a garbage can outside of Brian’s condo for a little less than a full day, trying to escape a brutal beating by the wrong people he’d sold to. The older fox nearly had a heart attack when Nick popped up, claws out and ready to defend himself. The cigarette hanging from Brian’s mouth somehow didn’t fall out when he doubled over laughing at the story of just how he ended up in there, and invited him to shower off and for a fresh change of clothes, sitting him down and giving him his first lesson on the streets.

**Don’t Hustle Hustlers.**

They’d fallen out of contact when Brian moved in with his long-time vixen girlfriend Sherri and relocated to the rainforest district, so it had been years since they’d seen each other, however, Nick knew Brian well enough to know he’d always been anti- drugs. Preached it to every street runnin’ kids he could find out there. He’d done countless meetings for addicts at the homeless shelter in Happytown when his mom was still alive. He refused to ever go into the drug trade and nearly beat the shit out of Nick when he was hard up and thought about dealing.

Brian Burner standing in a night club, higher than a kite on a summer afternoon in Central Park wasn’t the Brian he knew.

But then again…mammals changed he supposed.

“Yeah,” Brian said, fidgeting with the collar of his shirt, pulling on it and stretching the fabric loose, “Heard you’re…heard you’re with 5-0. Crazy shit.”

Nick nodded, watching Brian scanning the room, breathing so hard Nick could practically hear him over the booming music. He parroted back to him, “Crazy shit.”

Brian stilled suddenly, eyes focused over Nick’s shoulder and just as he was about to turn and look at what had stilled the frantically moving fox in front of him, Brian pulled him into a fierce hug. Nick managed to keep the drinks from spilling, taken aback at the sudden movement that ended just as fast as it happened.

“I gotta go Nicky. Stay safe out there,” Brian said clearly, patting him on his cheek a little harder than was necessary and darted off into the crowd of mammals dancing. He heard a few unhappy exclamations as he pushed through, leaving Nick standing there trying to process what just happened.

Brian Burner…into drugs? It didn’t make sense. Nick looked over his shoulder, where Brian had suddenly gone stiff, seeing nothing but a zebra couple getting a little too handsy than what was appropriate for a night club. He sighed and moved out of the way of an oncoming antelope and decided to head back into the party, although the image of his old mentor acting like some common druggie wasn’t so easy to push from his mind.

Judy noticed immediately that he was troubled, but he promised her an explanation later and slid on that old Nick Wilde mask he was so easily able to transition into. He slid down next to Wolford, clinking his beer with Delgato by way of greeting and took a long gulp of his beer.

“Alright, now about those videos.”

* * *

**Wednesday, August 26th - 5:45 a.m. - Nick's Apartment, Savanna Central**

The next morning, he had to drag himself out of bed the first time he woke up, an hour before his set alarm clock, otherwise there was no way he was leaving his cocoon of blankets. The party had gone till midnight, leaving Nick sober and to make sure Ben was safe in his Zuber and Judy wasn’t going to throw up all over the sidewalk, despite her constant promise that she was. He didn’t mind the responsibility, finding a very drunk Judy Hopps cuter than her meter maid persona. Throw on the outfit, he would have had to take pictures to commemorate the night.

Speaking of, the bunny had passed out cold as soon as he set her down on his couch, and he dutifully set her overnight bag and a bucket right next to her before he retired to his bedroom for the night. She had tossed in her sleep, facing towards the back of the couch and the blanket he covered her with had been kicked off completely. He smiled to himself, seeing her leg twitch. Even in sleep she was hyper.

It was a short thirty minutes later he was making breakfast and she was sitting up, rubbing at her eyes, asking him why on Earth she let him drink that much. He tossed her a bagel with a shit eating grin, knowing full well she wouldn’t be able to take more than a few nibbles.

“I told you to slow down after the third shot,” he reminded her, sliding his blueberry pancakes onto his plate and joining her on the couch. He turned on the television, drowning out her dramatic groaning.

_-morrow Eric Hatherstrum’s remains will be laid to rest in Grove Park Cemetery. This comes a week after Hatherstrum’s body was found outside of Griller, a popular bar-restaurant located in the Haymarket district by the owner. No leads have been made in the case and the ZPD has yet to release a statement, however, they are asking for the public to come forward if they have any tips.”_

“That poor kid,” Judy commented. That case had been a constant thorn in everyone’s side since it came across their desks. Grizzoli and McHorn had been assigned originally, but eventually it became a unit wide search for evidence. They had spent half of their own shift Monday morning combing through thousands of texts for any possible information that may have been passed up in the beginning, but there were no signs of any wrongdoing. He had been a regular, eighteen-year-old fox who was ready to graduate and move the hell out of Happytown it sounded like. Nick sighed and finished off his pancakes, the sad reality of the case before them mixed with the zero evidence they’d been able to collect making it almost sure this case going to the back of the filing cabinet soon.

“I have a feeling this one is going to go cold.”

Oh, how wrong he would turn out to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here's the second chapter! I'm having fun rewriting this between study sessions. Studying criminal justice is also helping with the inspiration in a weird way. I hope you guys enjoy and I don't own ZT or any of it's characters!

It was weird not seeing Clawhauser at the kiosk bright and early, but he was glad the cheetah opted not to try and come in to work. He'd been more sloshed than Nick had ever seen and there was no way even strongest willed people would have been able to get up and go in to work after the amount he drank.

Thankfully, though, yesterday's donut box still had a few leftover and he ignored the annoyed glare of the Elk that had been assigned to cover his dear friend. As long as he got his sugar in for the day, Ben not being there wouldn't change throw him off too bad today. Judy led them into the bull pen where they were met with greetings, the insufferably small room and too large animals that crowded it were killing Judy, but she would survive. Nick smiled as she collapsed in the chair next to him, resting her head on his arm tiredly.

"There's the party girl," Fangmeyer teased.

"Heard you drank your body weight last night, Hopps. Damn shame I missed it," Grizzoli leaned over, chuckling at the dirty look Judy shot him.

"Hopps, you always so friendly after a couple of drinks?" Wolford piped in, "Because if so I'm definitely going to have to invite you out more often."

"Down boy," Nick grumbled, giving his friend a warning glance. Wolford tended to shamelessly flirt with most of the females on the force, although he meant no harm by it. After Judy's display last night, he knew he would be needing to keep tabs on the wolf's flirty tone.

Judy groaned and burrowed in further, and he slung his arm around her for good measure. He saw Delgato shaking his head at him and he lifted his paw to flip him, but he was cut off by Bogo entering the bullpen.

Bogo slammed the door open and shut like he normally did, scaring Judy right out of her stupor and forcing her sit up, eyes wide and ears pointed straight up on alert. Nick had to stifle his laughter into his elbow, earning a mean jab in the ribs from his partner. She was so cute when she was flustered.

"Sit down, shut up. Take one pass it down."

The files that he threw at Fangmeyer quickly made their way around the room, Bogo unwilling to wait until everyone had a copy of a paper he was holding up. It was clear it was a homicide case, given the navy blue folders.

"Brian Burner was found dead outside of Tippy's this morning."

The sentence, had Nick been standing, would have knocked him off his feet. Instead, he sputtered on the coffee he brought in, choking and coughing so loudly Bogo stopped and sent him a dirty look, unaware of the reason why he was dramatically gasping for breath. Even Judy was giving him a questioning look, much like everyone else in the room was. He set his coffee aside and swiped the folder, opening it and coming face to face with an old mugshot picture of his old friend who he spoke to just last night.

"Tippy's? We were there last night for Clawhauser's birthday," Wolford spoke up. Nick could barely hear it over the conversation replaying in his head. Bogo was still looking at him he realized as soon as he set the folder down on the table. Nick shook his head. It was a coincidence that they had run into each other last night, not to mention Brian had been on something…and that weird hug after…

"Wilde. Wilde!"

Nick jumped so violently that Judy put her paw on his shoulder, now genuinely concerned at the perturbed expression.

"Yes, sir. Sorry."

"Something you'd like to share with us?"

_Shit._ Should he share? It was no secret what he'd been doing before he joined the force. He'd been pretty open about his past work and experiences, and he'd been invaluable when it came to police work the connections he had and the sheer amount of street knowledge he had at his whim. It was why he was moving up the ranks with Judy so fast. But, as far as people, he kept that to himself among other certain knowledge.

But…this came across the homicide desk, which meant this wasn't a simple case of overdosing. Sure, he was completely drugged up last night, but since he was murdered, do they really need to know that?

"Wilde," Chief Bogo ground out, patience having grown thin without a response. Nick licked his lips, mind racing, and then eventually he sighed, knowing it was impossible for him to back peddle now and refuse to answer anything. Everyone was looking at him. They knew he knew something.

"I knew him. He was an old friend. I saw him and talked to him last night."

His voice sounded so loud in the room, eyes landing on the black and white picture on the paper in front of him. Brian had been arrested a few times for petty shit, but this looked like one of his earlier mugshots, back when he was still in Happytown, when they worked together.

What the hell had happened?

"I see," Bogo nodded at him, "Well unfortunately, he was found gutted in the trash around 4 a.m. this morning. Classic signs of struggle, stomach slit open, organs missing. Almost, to a T, matches the Hatherstrum case."

Nick screwed his eyes shut at the detail, feeling his stomach rolling. He was barely aware of Judy stroking the fur on the back of his neck in a comforting gesture.

"DNA samples were taken at the crime scene, rapid tested and found an enormous amount of MDMA in his system. It was likely mixed and taken in liquid form as there were traces of other psychedelics found as well."

Bogo took off his glasses, Nick locking eyes with him yet again and looking away. He knew as soon as Bogo dismissed them he would be marched up to his office. It was the only reason he wasn't being called out right now.

"The media hasn't caught wind but as soon as they do, we will have to acknowledge the connection between the two cases. It is too early to tell, but there is a possible pattern forming here. Detective Joseph Langford form Homicide will be heading this investigation and we're needing all paws on deck. Assignments are listed in the folder. Get to work."

Bogo didn't move like he normally did. He was usually out of the door before anyone could leave, but he was rooted, watching everyone leave silently except for Nick and Judy, who staid in their shared chair. Judy was apprehensive to leave Nick's side, but when Bogo nodded for her to go, she did, sharing a worried glance with him that he tried to cover up with a smile. It failed.

Bogo closed them in the room and came to stand in front of Nick, arms crossed, looking down at him expectantly. Nick exhaled.

"I hadn't seen him in years. He took off to the rainforest district and I stuck to Savanna Central and downtown, so I was kind of shocked to see him last night. He was doped up which isn't like him at all. He was always against drugs. I know you may think I know a lot of scummy people and I do, but I never dealt with drugs because he didn't allow me to. He was….he was like a brother to me at one point."

Nick leaned forward with his head in his hands, "Which doesn't make sense why he would be high. He never touched the stuff."

"You're thinking it wasn't purposeful."

Nick didn't know how to answer. He didn't want to make assumptions. It _had_ been years since he'd seen him. Maybe something happened that pushed him over the edge? He hadn't asked about Sherry… _oh no, Sherry_.

"What else."

Nick hesitated to continue, but he knew he needed to. He knit his brow together, curling his tail up onto his lap unconsciously. "He hugged me. He saw something over my shoulder, he hugged me and told me to be safe. And then he just took off."

Bogo nodded slowly, turning away from him, mulling what he said over. It was hard to tell what Bogo was thinking, but Nick could read it clear as day. A pattern was forming. A gruesome, organ harvesting, male red fox pattern was forming. The thought had drifted around in his mind, but Nick hadn't even bothered to land on it while thinking of last night.

"I'm putting in a requisition for a standard handgun for you. I want it holstered to you at all times. I won't go as far as to put a detail on you, because this could very well turn into something else, but two foxes with the exact same injuries and nearly identical crime scenes, even down to the same fur is bringing up questions."

Nick nodded slowly. How did this morning completely turn on it's head like this? He'd been all jokes at Judy's expense on their way to get coffee and into the precinct this morning. He'd enjoyed his donut as per usual and had a normal conversation with Fangmeyer and now this?

"I'm assigning you to Langford personally. Hopps as well, since she'll insist and I don't want to deal with the headache she'll cause if you're split up on this. Report to him, relay everything you just said and we will keep monitoring the situation."

With that, Bogo grabbed his folder and left with nothing else to say. Nick sat back in the chair, sighing loudly, eyes still cast on the picture of Brian who was looking rather smug in his mugshot.

_What happened to you?_

* * *

Detective Joe Langford had been with the force for over 25 years, and he had seen some nasty shit.

Skinned mammals hanging from overpasses, shrines to made of the bloody bones of rodents buried in the caverns across the rainforest district. Dead kids. Dead elders. Dead everything. Organ harvesting, however, was new. Predator organ harvesting. Foxes, if you're needing to be even more precise.

It was a hell of a week to quit smoking. Langford chewed furiously on his gum, hands itching to reach for his pocket that was empty. He had a lone lighter in his desk he kept taking out and playing with as he read over the reports of the Hatherstrum case and the incoming details of Burner case as well. He would have easily snuck the pack he kept in his bedroom closet if his daughter hadn't gotten in his way before he left.

He craved the sweet comfort of nicotine as he flipped through the crime scene pictures. It was never easy looking into the empty, soulless eyes of a dead body, but he'd gotten just about as used to it as you could ever get. These pictures just happened to be a little more brutal than what he'd seen in a while. Whoever did it was precise. Straight line cut down the midsection. Everything but the bones was taken.

And then drugs were involved, too. Hatherstrum had been doped up, but that wasn't a fact that had been made public to the media. They did what they could to try and protect the poor kids' dignity. A young male fox that had traces of drugs in his system would only incite more anger in the public eye, divide the tension even more than it already had been. There was no doubt that foxes faced discrimination more than most in Zootopia. The fact that they were now dealing with two similar cases was going to cause a ruckus for sure.

Langford shot a glance at his office door after the soft knocks broke his concentration. He ordered whoever it was to come in as he stood and prepared another cup of coffee from the station he had set up by his window. Langford watched the young fox in uniform walk in, clearing his throat to ease whatever tension he was feeling just walking in here. Langford sighed. He could feel the eyes on his jagged scar running over his left eye and across his snout. It was the first thing any of the newbies noticed when they ran into him for the first time.

"Detective Langford?"

He grunted. The fox stumbled a little over his name, "Officer Nick Wilde. Bogo assigned me and my partner to you. He told me I needed to give you a verbal report before I write one out while it's fresh."

Verbal report? Bogo never ordered one unless someone had direct contact. Interesting.

"Take a seat," Langford nodded towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. He continued on making his coffee, sizing up the mammal in front of him. Typical red fox in looks and demeanor. He'd heard about this one. He was their first fox officer, almost a solid year after they received their first rabbit officer. The two closed the night howler case just days after Hopps joined the force and he had to admit, he'd been impressed by the teamwork the two officers displayed on paper.

He wasn't around out of his office much, so he hadn't had the chance to meet the famous small duo, but it looks like he was going to be working with them, as much as he loathed having to work with a team.

Bogo must be really be freaking out.

"Coffee?"

Wilde shook his head as Langford mixed his cream, taking a seat at his desk, "A verbal report? So that means you saw the victim or the suspect?"

"V-victim…"

Personal. It was obvious in the way the foxes eyes darted away from his and the slight quiver in his voice.

"Go on."

He listened in silence as Wilde recounted the entire story, Langford taking minimal notes on what he could. He could tell the fox was incredibly perturbed by the events, if not upset. Seeing a personal friend after years and then finding out the next day they died right after you spoke to them…it would be emotionally traumatizing for most people. Langford didn't have time for Wilde to be emotionally traumatized though. Anyone else, sure. Not someone on his team.

"Bogo thinks that since there's been two foxes with the same fur color as mine-"

"You could be a target," Langford finished. It made sense. The media coverage of the night howler case had been intense. Maybe the fox had gained a fan somewhere. Could be they were trying to get his attention. Of course, there would be no jumping to conclusions. Not until Langford was out there himself at the crime scene.

"Tie up loose ends. I want you and Hopps at the crime scene in thirty minutes."

Wilde hesitated for a moment and then left, closing the door shut behind him and plunging Langford into silence once more.

He had the distinct feeling that this wasn't going to be open and shut. Something in his gut, that little odd twinge he'd honed as a detective, told him Eric Hatherstrum and Brian Burner weren't the only foxes getting out of this unscathed.

Which meant they had some serious work to do.

* * *

"Nick! Nick, hey," Judy caught up to her partner that had been booking it back to their shared cubicle. He looked troubled still, like he had in the bullpen and her concern returned immediately. Bogo had called her in and let her knew they were officially on the new case, which excited her initially, until she was informed that she needed to keep a close eye on Nick. She already knew from the debriefing that he knew the suspect, she just hadn't known they spoke at some point during the night.

It concerned her seeing Nick so caught by this. She wondered if this really was a good opportunity for them or not.

"Bogo got me all caught up. Are you ok?"

Nick licked his lips and, like a mask, slipped back into his normal, laid back persona he always flaunted around. Judy watched his distant expression slowly disappear, the worry in his green eyes changed to something playful. She hated that he was doing that, holding back his feelings, with her, but she allowed it given the circumstances and where they stood, right next to their colleague's cubicles.

"Of course, Fluff. Look at us makin' it to the big time. We have to head out to Tippy's though, Detective Langford needs us on the scene with him. No drinks, though. I know how sad that's gonna make you."

She rolled her eyes and followed him back to their space. It was the last one in the row, closest to the break room, but the cubicles were empty near them.

"Nick…are you really ok? You looked really upset during the debrief."

"Carrots, I told you I'm fine."

"Nick, I've never seen you so disturbed before."

"Look cottontail, I-"

" _Nick!_ "

It came out louder than intended, but she got his attention. He was taken aback by her sudden, sharp tone, but it worked when he slumped his shoulders and sighed, knowing she wasn't backing down. He looked around, making sure they were truly alone. Judy grabbed his paw, squeezing it between both of hers in a show of support.

"Brian…was a really good friend of mine. Like a brother. And last night…I ran into him. And he was doped up and acting strange and he…he told me to be careful and he took off. I should have gone after him. I felt like something was telling me to but I didn't. I didn't and now he's dead."

"Nick-"

"I _knew_ something was wrong and I didn't even try and figure it out. I just let him leave and went and had a good time while he was out there dying."

"Nick, are you blaming yourself? You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"Judy, I knew something was wrong and I chose to ignore it. I was…too afraid to find out what it was."

Nick dropped to his chair, a defeated sigh following. She tried and failed to come up with comforting words to say. The few times she ever tried to comfort Nick in the past year of their friendship had always resulted in him rejecting those old known platitudes with that damn flippant smirk of his. Whenever she asked why he couldn't even take a comforting gesture, he attributed it to his time on the streets.

She knew better.

"You keep opening your mouth like that you're gonna swallow a fly."

She caught his wry smile, returning her exasperated expression, "I'm trying to comfort you but I realized that every time I try you find some way to blow it off."

"That's because words of comfort don't mean squat, fluff," he tried to joke. Judy crossed her arms, more upset that he was trying to play this off like another inconvenience rather than something that may have actually gotten to him.

"Judy, I'm fine. A little shaken and sad, but I'm fine. I promise."

He sounded genuine. He looked genuine. It was all she was probably going to get out of him for right now.

"Fine. But this isn't over Wilde," she threatened, finger pointed at his chest. He feigned scared at her serious tone but she let it slide, dropping the conversation and instead, began gathering intel on Langford.


End file.
